--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was never a question of passing. It…" description: "\"“It was never a question of passing. It was a question of hiding. Behind Black and white perceptions of who we were -- who they thought we were. Tropic..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c3/michelle-cliff-42849_black-and-white_it-was-never-a-question-of-passing-it-wa_3129955.jpg" --- # It was never a question of passing. It was a question of… ![“It was never a question of passing. It was a question of hiding. Behind Black and white perceptions of who we were -- who they thought we were. Tropics. Plantations. Calypso. Cricket. We were the people with the musical voices and the coronation mugs on our parlor tables. I would be whatever…” quote by Michelle Cliff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c3/michelle-cliff-42849_black-and-white_it-was-never-a-question-of-passing-it-wa_3129955.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c3/michelle-cliff-42849_black-and-white_it-was-never-a-question-of-passing-it-wa_3129955.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c3/michelle-cliff-42849_black-and-white_it-was-never-a-question-of-passing-it-wa_3129955.jpg) > ““It was never a question of passing. It was a question of hiding. Behind Black and white perceptions of who we were -- who they thought we were. Tropics. Plantations. Calypso. Cricket. We were the people with the musical voices and the coronation mugs on our parlor tables. I would be whatever figurine these foreign imaginations cared for me to be. It would be so simple to let others fill in for me. So easy to startle them with a flash of anger when their visions got out of hand -- but never to sustain the anger for myself. It would be a life lived within myself. A life cut off. I know who I am but you will never know who I am. I may in fact lose touch with who I am.”” [Michelle Cliff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-cliff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker feels forced to hide true identity behind stereotypes, fearing external expectations and suppressing authentic anger, leading to a fragmented self. **In simple terms:** Hiding behind stereotypes fragments identity. Key Takeaway Embrace authentic self despite stereotypes. Themes identity stereotypes authenticity colonialism self‑perception Mood conflicted reflective Type personal cultural When to use this quote - personal relationships - activism - artistic expression - cultural dialogue Key Concepts postcolonialism psychology social masks Questions to Reflect On - How do you confront stereotypes without losing self? - What costs does suppressing anger incur? A Different Perspective Sustaining anger may alienate allies; authenticity can be risky. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black and white](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-and-white/) [Imaginations Cared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginations-cared-5531561/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Lived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-lived/) [Lived Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lived-life/) [Perceptions Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perceptions-thought-2305663/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) ## Related quotes > [We do not merely perceive objects and hold thoughts in our minds: all our perceptions and thought processes are felt. 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Life can be lived anywhere, but not every life can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-black/you-have-to-get-clear-about-the-kind-of-life-you-can-live-here-life/) [Daniel Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-black/) > [“He’s lived the life he’s lived. He’s loved the woman he’s loved. No one ever has or ever will travel quite the same path…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-l-stedman/he-s-lived-the-life-he-s-lived-he-s-loved-the-woman-he-s-loved-no-one/) [M.L. Stedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-l-stedman/) > [“...life didn't always have to be so serious. That life was to be lived. That life was one great adventure, to be lived well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tillie-cole/life-didn-t-always-have-to-be-so-serious-that-life-was-to-be-lived/) [Tillie Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tillie-cole/) > [Only a life lived for others is a life worth while . I have no special gift. I am only passionately curious . I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/only-a-life-lived-for-others-is-a-life-worth-while-i-have-no-special/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Only a life lived for others is a life worth while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/only-a-life-lived-for-others-is-a-life-worth-while/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [You have this comet trail of your own lived life, sparks from which arrive in the head all the time, whether you want them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/you-have-this-comet-trail-of-your-own-lived-life-sparks-from-which/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [Only a life lived for others is a life worthwile..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/only-a-life-lived-for-others-is-a-life-worthwile/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I love a man who has lived a full life and lived on the edge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-electra/i-love-a-man-who-has-lived-a-full-life-and-lived-on-the-edge/) [Carmen Electra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-electra/) ## More by Michelle Cliff > [“In America: each year the day before school after summer vacation I sat on my bed touching my notebooks, pencils, ruler-holding the stern and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-cliff/in-america-each-year-the-day-before-school-after-summer-vacation-i/) [Michelle Cliff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-cliff/) > [“She picked up the book beside her. Jane Eyre. Used, bought recently in a bookshop in Camden Passage, shabby nineteenth-century binding, pages bearing vague…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-cliff/she-picked-up-the-book-beside-her-jane-eyre-used-bought-recently-in-a/) [Michelle Cliff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-cliff/) > [To garden is a solitary act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-cliff/to-garden-is-a-solitary-act/) [Michelle Cliff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-cliff/) > [Who can say how many lives have been saved by books?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-cliff/who-can-say-how-many-lives-have-been-saved-by-books/) [Michelle Cliff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-cliff/) > [Our lives are written in disappearing ink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-cliff/our-lives-are-written-in-disappearing-ink/) [Michelle Cliff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-cliff/) > [“To cope with hurt and control my fears, I grew a thick skin. 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The world sees black and white, and then it understands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/the-world-doesn-t-see-a-lot-of-gray-the-world-sees-black-and-white/) [George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/) > [We shall be free only together, black and white. We shall survive only together, black and white. We can be human only together, black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/we-shall-be-free-only-together-black-and-white-we-shall-survive-only/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [“The world isn't always black and white. sometimes, it's gray, and sometimes that gray explodes into colors you never knew existed before.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-darhower/the-world-isn-t-always-black-and-white-sometimes-it-s-gray-and/) [J.M. Darhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-darhower/) > [“The Runaway Five's obvious influence is The Blues Brothers. During localization, their black and white suits were made more colorful to avoid legal action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-baumann/the-runaway-five-s-obvious-influence-is-the-blues-brothers-during/) [Ken Baumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-baumann/) > [I shoot in black and white, sometimes color, sometimes if it looks good I shoot out the window of the airplanes or whatever, anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barry/i-shoot-in-black-and-white-sometimes-color-sometimes-if-it-looks-good/) [Robert Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barry/) > [“I think you want very much to make this black and white--to make us all out to be sinners or saints. But it's just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-sexton/i-think-you-want-very-much-to-make-this-black-and-white-to-make-us/) [Marie Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-sexton/) > [Teenage girls are extremists who see the world in black-and- white terms, missing shades of gray. Life is either marvelous or notworth living. School…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-pipher/teenage-girls-are-extremists-who-see-the-world-in-black-and-white/) [Mary Pipher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-pipher/) > [I remember thinking all TV was black and white, but that was because we had a really old, broken TV. And then I went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruby-rose/i-remember-thinking-all-tv-was-black-and-white-but-that-was-because/) [Ruby Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruby-rose/) > [Everything is not black-and-white . I'm really interested in the gray area - not justifying it, not glorifying it, not condoning it, but at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-washington/everything-is-not-black-and-white-i-m-really-interested-in-the-gray/) [Isaiah Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-washington/) > [Anyone who will look at my life from the outside won't see the struggles inside. Sometimes, things are not always as we see or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanda-kaushik/anyone-who-will-look-at-my-life-from-the-outside-won-t-see-the/) [Chanda Kaushik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanda-kaushik/) > [Light and subject is inseparable. But when it is well integrated, it becomes the work of a fine masterpiece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-chong-hasang/light-and-subject-is-inseparable-but-when-it-is-well-integrated-it/) [Paul Chong Hasang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-chong-hasang/) > [“Annabelle, if there is one thing I’ve learned over my years watching and protecting humans, it’s that we can talk about black and white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-p-bartels/annabelle-if-there-is-one-thing-i-ve-learned-over-my-years-watching/) [A.P. Bartels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-p-bartels/) > [Which is probably the reason why I work exclusively in black and white... to highlight that contrast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-nimoy/which-is-probably-the-reason-why-i-work-exclusively-in-black-and/) [Leonard Nimoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-nimoy/) > [There is nothing gray about whether a follower of Christ should see 50 Shades of Grey. This is a black and white issue. Don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-deyoung/there-is-nothing-gray-about-whether-a-follower-of-christ-should-see/) [Kevin DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-deyoung/) [Browse all 1,368 Black and white quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-and-white/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was never a question of passing. It was a question of hiding. Behind Black and white perceptions of who we were -- who they thought we were. Tropics. 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